Backup your Files/Folders and computer online with Carbonite

I have written previously about few backup solutions which are free for use. But each one of them got so many limitations compared to a full fledged commercial solution. For a full backup solution with good enough security , you need to have a full fledged solution for backing up your files / computer with proper security and encryption.

Today i will be talking about Carbonite backup solution which offers a great solution for backing up. I was impressed with their tagline ” because your life is on your computer”. Its close to reality as majority of people around the world including keep most of sensitive documents personal and professional both on their computers. Hence , you need a proper backup solution in case your system crashes or loses data due to any untoward incidents like viruses, data theft etc.

Carbonite offers a offers unlimited backup for just $54.95 per year flat fee i.e. less than $5/month for unlimited peace of mind! . It also offers a full free 15 days trial so that you can try it and be fully satisfied by using it for full 15 days.

As per their own website

Carbonite is a simple, safe online backup service for casual home computer users, students, home office users, business travelers, etc. For less than five dollars a month, Carbonite will back up all the irreplaceable data on your computer (digital photos, music, office documents, and other valuable files) whenever your computer is connected to the Internet.

You need to download and install a small setup on your system to start working for you. The setup file is just 3.2 MB and a breeze to install. The installation is as easy as any other normal windows setup. Please go through the screenshots below to have a walk through with the setup and install process.

After you installed the client file on your system, it will reside in your system tray and run in background. During first run, it will ask you whether you want default backup or customized one. Default backup includes “My Documents” and Your Desktop folders. The other option lets you add folders/files manually as per your requirement.

The interface is good enough to let you distinguish backed up files/folders and still to be backed up files/folders by placing a green dot to backed up stuff and yellow dots to pending backups respectively as shown in the screenshots.

After you are done with selecting files/folders to backup, it starts backing up them instantly in the background. If you double click the icon in system tray , it will show you the status window clearly showing the status of backup going on. The time required to backup fully depends on the size of your files/folders along with the bandwidth of your connection.

If you got a slow speed connection , it may take hours to backup large files/folders and if you got a too fast broadband connection, it will be over in few minutes or few hours depending on how much you are backing up.

It also gives you a option to schedule a backup according to your convenience . It takes too less memory to slow down your computer.

You can restore your files quickly. If you got a big backup, it lets you search your backup to help you locate the exact file to restore.

It also adds a option in your right click menu to directly add any file or folder to backup by right clicking on it and then selecting the option to add to backup.

Above all, it provides great security cover to all your data. All your data is encrypted twice before leaving your system. Even on the servers, they are encrypted.Hence only you can read them, not anyone else.

Carbonite backup offers remote file access too so that you can restore your files from any computer around the world by logging through remote access through a web browser. It can be used on both windows and Mac operating systems.